I was born in Rumangabo on May 15, 1968. I am married to Cécile Nyirabaributsa; we have two children. In 1995, when Wato was the provincial director of the ICCN in North Kivu, some job vacancies came up at Rumangabo. Before then I was a farmer: my most successful crop was sorghum. Some friends who worked for the park told me that the ICCN was recruiting. I decided to give up agriculture and work in conservation. I spent a year doing manual work in the park; spending my days at Rumangabo station watching the park rangers come and go on patrol. I became very interested in their work and one day I decided to make a change and train as a guard – that way I could make more of a difference.